Sunday, 24 February 2013

Nadia Nair - Bon Voyage

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

Once the reserve of some of the worlds finest indiepop groups, Sweden has recently made a sterling attempt to win back the pop crown that it has (kind of) captured in the past (ABBA, Roxette, um, Ace Of Base?) with plenty of quality pop making its way across the North Sea. We won't list the same old names again, you probably know who they are. Hoping to join them is 24 year-old singer Nadia Nair and on debut single 'Bon Voyage' she's going about things in the right way. This is well-crafted pop, this is sophisticated pop, this is not the cheesy identikit comedy pop substitute that we're currently force fed.

Being sophisticated and classy doesn't always make for great music, in fact the opposite is often true, but Nair manages it with ease here. 'Bon Voyage' not only displays an adept voice but also instantly likeable sounds that are constructed from things like real instruments (it doesn't particularly matter what makes the sound so long as it sounds good, but it's worth pointing out here). We get a mix of guitar, tribal beats and backing vocals blended in with some synths and a decent build-up that could satisfy radio playlist compilers. Potential breakthrough a distinct possibility.